In an article in a local paper, of which the subject is acronyms, the author states that "SeaBees" comes from Construction Battalions (that is CBs). I would think that CB would be the acronym, and SeaBees is technically not an acronym, but what would you call a spelling out of the sound of the 2 letters?

This reminds me of a year-long question I secretly asked myself every now and then. What are the authoritative spelling for the Alphabet pronunciations in English? How do you spell H (haitch, I assume) for example?

allelopath wrote:In an article in a local paper, of which the subject is acronyms, the author states that "SeaBees" comes from Construction Battalions (that is CBs). I would think that CB would be the acronym, and SeaBees is technically not an acronym, but what would you call a spelling out of the sound of the 2 letters?

Hmm. I'm not sure if there is a special name for .

CB would be an abbreviation, not an acronym, and Sea and bee are obviously homophones for C and B, respectively. Bees, especially honeybees, are legendary builders, so Seabee could be an aptronym (A name devised to be characterizing or descriptive (Miss Neat; Felicity Foote).

Here's the definition of Seabee from the American Heritage Dictionary:

Seabee

SYLLABICATION: Sea·bee

PRONUNCIATION: sē'bē'

NOUN: A member of one of the construction battalions in the U.S. Navy that builds naval aviation bases and shore facilities.

ETYMOLOGY: Alteration of cee bee, pronunciation of the initial letters of construction battalion.